The Sources For Chumros/Being Machmir/Strict During The Ten Days of Repentance…and Its Possible Limitations
Rabbi Moshe Taub – September, 2026
- A Minhag’s Many Shailos
- “I’m not using the eruv during aseres yimei teshuva. May I still ask my wife to carry for me?”
- “I’m going on a business trip during aseres yimei teshuva. They usually feed me from a local cholov stam shop. What do I do now?”
- “Must I be mattir neder after assuming these aseres yimei teshuva chumros?
- “If this is the appropriate path, why are we told only to take them on only for these ten days?”
- “Is this not ‘arama’, playing tricks/games, with teshuva?”
These are a good sample of the common questions rabbanim receive relating to the following minhag recorded in the Shulchan Aruch:
“Even one who’s not careful regarding pas palter [during the year], during the aseres yimei teshuva he should be careful”
Shulchan Aruch, oh”ch 603:1
To best understand this halacha, we must first disentangle a misconception.
II. A Minhag Defined
Many mistakenly define a ‘minhag’ as any action/abstention untethered to either Torah or Rabbinical halacha; the unique familial/communal customs relating to Jewish life that are source-less in our legal cannon.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, all minhagim must have a real-although minority- halachic viewpoint that is being followed or be grounded in chazal (see, e.g. shu”t Noda B’Yehudah, 2, evh’a, #79; see also Tzava Rav Yehudah Hachasid, Otzar HaPoskim edition).
This does not mean that we must first discover each-and-every minhag’s source before acting on them. Rather, that our reverence for our true minhagim allows to be confident that such sources already exist, known to their creators.
A helpful illustration would be a 1969 letter from Rav Yechezkel Grubner, famed rav of Detroit (d. 2009) to Rav Moshe Feinstein (shu”t Igros Moshe oh’c 3:3) regarding the minhag to fast for a fallen sefer Torah, R”l. Now, one may think that such a minhag is self-evidently appropriate, requiring no source. But as explained, this would be an error. Because Rav Moshe did not often research most achronim, Rav Grubner sent Rav Moshe the many distinctive sources that admorim and roshei yeshiva had marshalled over the years to back-up this minhag. Rav Moshe dissects each potential source and shows how it would affect the halacha of this minhag, finally settling on one chazal he felt was the most likely source (based on taanis 16a).
All this is not to chalila dimmish minhagim – on the contrary!
With this in mind we can briefly discuss the above famous minhag of aseres yimei teshuva, its source and possible limitations.
III. The Source
The Tur is the first to bring this minhag, in the name of his father, the Rosh. He bases it on a chazal found in the Yerushalmi (shabbos 1:3):
“Rav Chiya explicitly told Rav: “If you are able to eat ordinary food b’tahara (in a state of ritual purity) all year long, do so. But if you cannot, at least make sure to do so for seven days out of the year.”
What ‘seven days’ was he referring to? The Ravya (Avi HaEzri; d. circa 1220) interrupted this to refer to the seven days in-between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Based on this, the Tur concludes:
“…the minhag developed in ashkanaz that those not careful regarding pas goyim should be careful during the aseres yimei teshuva”.
The Beis Yosef (Rav Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch) notes how Rav Chiya did not make a suggestion to Rav relating to a halachic matter, rather one of minhag. After all, there is no obligation for one to eat food b’tahara! Rather, he recommended an extra holy step for these seven days of the year.
Based on this, the Beis Yosef rejects the Tashbeitz’s concern for either hataras nedarim following Yom Kippur, or being forced to abide by these ten-day chumros for the rest of the year.
How does the Beis Yosef answer this? We will now explain…
IV. Why Bread?
The Beis Yosef goes on to explain that this is why the Tur chose, out of all chumros, to be machmir during aseres yimei teshuva regarding, specifically, pas akum.
Without getting too in the weeds, although the mishneh teaches us that such bread was banned (avoda zara 35b), when it comes to non-Jewish bakeries/stores it is not so clear if this decree was ever rescinded (see Tosfos s.v. bklal). The Rosh (2:23) explains that since bread is fundamental for life, we were not able to abide by such a decree, at least fully (see Yerushalmi, avoda zara, 2:8).
To what extent has it been nullified?
While pas akum (privately baked goods/not for sale) are almost never allowed (y”d 112:8), pas palter (sold baked goods) is based on minhag. While the Rema allows buying from a non-Jewish baker, the Shulchan Aruch only allows it if there’s no Jewish alternative and also, according to some, when the pas palter options are better (112:2-5).
This stringent minhag of the Shulchan Aruch is not active if one needs to travel a great distance to attain the pas yisroel (112:8).
Now we understand the Beis Yosef’s response to the Tashbeitz:
“The concern for now having to keep this chumra the rest of the year is not a tayna (argument) as pas palter’s prohibited status is not at all clear, rather it’s only a minhag, and therefore when he abstains his mind is not to continue in this practice…”.
V. Application
Based on this the Mishneh Berrura, the Magen Avarham and others limit the aseres yimei teshuva minhag to be machmir not to surpass the actual halachos of pas palter. Meaning, if one is stuck somewhere without access to pas yisroel, he may eat pas palter. This is because the chumrah can’t go beyond the minhag as recorded by its laws where even the stringent view allows pas palter in such a case!
The Aruch Hashulchan takes this all one step further (603:2), stating that the aseres yimei teshuva chumros are only regarding minhagim, but not actual halachic debates of interpretation among the poskim. Based onhis view, such ten-day chumros would not relate to issues like cholov yisroel when one is following their posek. Whereas the avoidance of using any city eiruv during these days would be an acceptable temporary chumra, as poskim indeed record a minhag of being machmir on all eiruvin.
Rav Shmuel Kamanetzky goes one step further, arguing that this chumra minhag of aseres yimei teshuva is limited only to the halachos of pas yisroel (Kovetz Halachos, p.268, note #3).
Based on the Chayay Adam (Chachmas Adam 25:2), bread is essential to life and is therefore used as a tool of awakening toward general -and more longstanding- growth and change.
While I have always paskened to only be machmir during these days on ‘minhag halachos’, others disagree. Minchas Yaakov (klal 75:1) as well as the Piskei Teshuvos imply that one can apply these temporary chumros to any halacha (the latter states that hataras nedarim would still not be needed. His proof, however, is difficult to fathom, as he derives it from the same Beis Yosef above who stressed that this is unique to minhagim).
VI. Trickery?
There are many explanations of this minhag and how it is not a contradiction if we know we will not continue.
Due to space, bl”n we will save this question for next year. However, Iwill leave the reader with one approach to take into this holy week. The Alef L’Magen brings from the Ramak: “…this is appropriate even if we do not continue with this middas chassidus afterward. This is because if Hashem is acting toward us during this time with chassidus, is it not appropriate if do the same…”.
May we take advantage of Hashem’s extra rachamaim during this time, while being halachtav bdrachav -mirroring His actions. Both toqard halacha and toward eachother.
Wishing You All A Kesiva V’Chasima Tova!
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